How can we be better disciples with regard to how we use our gifts? How can your mission be at the heart of your budget? In Mission-based Budgeting: A Loving, Liberating, Life-Giving Practice (Part 2), Phyllis Jones shares her experience in the Diocese of New Jersey and details a step-by-step process to create a mission-based budget.

We are on a never-ending journey of formation as communities of faith dedicated to forming disciples of Jesus Christ to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation in the world. So why shouldn’t our budgeting practices reflect and enhance our roles as stewards of a living, breathing community of disciples?

Who is seated at our leadership table? And who isn’t? In How We Gather ’Round the Table, Bishop Brian Prior lifts up questions we should be examining every time our church teams meet together and explains the importance of shared collaborative leadership and healthy representation.

How can personality tests improve team dynamics and functioning? In The MBTI and Strong Vestry Teams, Jenny Replogle shares how the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can offer a lens for looking at the ways different people approach situations, and what gifts each person brings to the table, enabling vestries to work as a more self-aware and balanced team.

With more churches choosing to come together in partnership and share resources, what implications does that have for leadership teams? In Church Partnerships and Collaborative Leadership, Benge Ambrogi brings his experience to questions around navigating the challenges and advantages of working together.

On any vestry or bishops committee team, attention must be paid to duties, relationships and the personal needs of the team members. In Essentials for a Healthy Vestry Team, Victor Conrado details these functions and shares how they are critical to any good team dynamic.

What are the essential elements required to function effectively as a vestry or bishop’s committee team? In There is No “I” in Team, Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce details goals, processes and difficult yet critical questions to consider when working together to ensure the best possible decisions are being made for all who are impacted.

Creating a healthy leadership team often starts by asking questions that may not sit comfortably with everyone. Are we setting measurable goals and holding ourselves accountable? Are we thinking about who is on our team and more importantly, who is not? Do we have a good balance of skills, gifts and personalities even if we aren’t always in agreement? In this issue, we address these questions and share ideas for creating and maintaining effective vestry teams.